


True Happiness

by commandershakarian



Series: The Heroes of Ferelden [4]
Category: Dragon Age: Origins, Dragon Age: Origins - Awakening
Genre: Cats, F/M, Fluff, Non Warden Amell, warden commander surana - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-09-02
Updated: 2016-09-02
Packaged: 2018-08-12 12:19:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,340
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7934368
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/commandershakarian/pseuds/commandershakarian
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Elias Amell finally understands what true happiness is. It's finding the love of his life.</p>
            </blockquote>





	True Happiness

**Author's Note:**

> Dedicated to my dear friend, Athena, who is the mother of Leda Surana. :)

The chirping of crickets was the only sound Elias Amell heard upon waking. By the sight of darkness outside his tent, dawn was clearly still some time off. He considered rolling over and closing his eyes, getting another hour or so of sleep, when he noticed that he was alone. His hand reached out to feel the bedroll next to him. It was cool, having long been unoccupied. **  
**

Concerned, Elias sat up and rubbed the sleep from his eyes. He hadn’t heard Leda leave during the night. She was quick and quiet, like a cat, but she would have had to climb over him to exit their tent. He brushed the curls out of his face as he searched for a tunic. The least he could do was cover himself when he went in search of his wife. Her companions surely wouldn’t like to be greeted with an eyeful of his chest hair.

Well, except maybe Sigrun.

The stray thought made him chuckle. Leda certainly would have gotten grumpy over that joke. One thing he loved most about her. Despite pretending not to, she didn’t like the attention that Sigrun gave him some days. It was all in good fun and once the dwarf had had her fill of teasing Elias, Sigurn moved on to Nate or Anders.

Exiting the tent, Elias surveyed his surroundings. Nathaniel was standing at the edge of camp, bow in hand. His watch must have started not long before. The rogue was tall, silent, eerie in the light of the moon. His hair was the color of raven feathers, a shade darker than Elias’ own curls.

The warden’s silvery eyes turned to him as he nodded a greeting. “Amell.”

“Howe.” Elias pulled at the hem of his shirt, irritated with the way it scratched at his skin. It’d been too long since it had been properly cleaned. Clearing his throat, Elias moved his gaze from Nate to the cold embers of the fire pit, attempting to figure out how long he’d been asleep for. “Did you happen to see Leda pass through?”

“I did.” Nathaniel replied, stoic as usual. He never showed emotion and Elias wasn’t sure if that bothered him or not. “She mentioned that she couldn’t sleep. Her plan was to walk to the fields we’d passed this evening.”

Elias nodded, grateful for the information. He left Nathaniel and followed the trail down towards the meadows. Leda was a lover of flowers and the blooms they’d witnessed earlier were beautiful enough to catch her attention. It should have been the first place he’d thought of.

He caught a glimpse of her fiery red hair before anything else. It stood out among the whites and yellows of the wildflowers. Her long auburn waves flowed freely down her back. He longed to touch them, but fearing that he would frighten her, Elias stopped by the tree line, watching her fondly.

She was kneeling at the edge of the meadow, her back to him. Her nightgown had been covered with one of her old mage robes from their time in Kinloch Hold. The periwinkle of her robes nearly blended with the darkness. If not for her hair, she would have been imperceptible.

Elias watched her for a moment, admiring how delicately she placed a bunch of blooms into the basket beside her. Each flower was handled with the utmost care as if any type of sudden movement would ruin them. She was about to reach for another when a small gasp escaped her lips.

He sprang into action, the thought of his wife being in possible danger moving him. He was about to reach for her when a mewl made him pause. His eyesight wasn’t as good as Leda’s was, she being an elf and all, but the noises that greeted his ears were familiar. A kitten.

With a light laugh, Elias knelt down to his wife’s height, delighted as she was to see the kitten pawing at the skirts of her robes. Leda giggled and lifted the tiny cat in her hands so that both of them could see it clearly in the moonlight. It was dark gray in color with even darker stripes. Big eyes peered up at them before it opened its mouth and let out a loud cry.

“He’s adorable.” Leda said, breathlessly. She ran a finger gently over the animal’s head, watching its eyes close at her touch. Then she began scratching behind its ear. The kitten’s purrs filled the silence between them. Then Leda turned her bright eyes on him. “What are you doing here?”

“Looking for you.” Elias admitted, brushing a hand over her waves. They felt like silk between his fingers and he longed to hold her in his arms. “When I woke, you weren’t there. Nate said you’d be here.”

Leda nodded, a quiet sigh escaping her lips. “The nightmares make it hard to sleep at times. It was getting better after the Archdemon was slain, but now…”

“With this new threat.” He finished for her. Elias understood, even if he wasn’t a warden. It was hard for her and he did everything he could to make things easier on her. But he could only do so much. “We’ll get through this, Leda. We always do.”

A smile lit up her face, but he could still see the weariness in her gaze. “I know we will. With you here, anything is possible.”

Elias pressed a kiss to her hair, enjoying the scent that was so uniquely hers. Nothing in this world made him happier than Leda Surana. Without her, he was nothing but a templar. With Leda, he was more. More than he’d ever imagined.

He leaned back while her attention returned to the kitten. She cooed at it happily as she lifted a blade of grass, dangling it above its head. The kitten swatted at the grass, trying to catch it between its paws. Elias couldn’t help but feel his heart swell at the sight.

He wasn’t sure how long they sat there, her playing with the cat and he watching, but the first rays of sunlight had begun to brighten the sky when she finally stood. The cat was cradled in her robes, sleeping soundly after the fun it’d had. She glanced at him while he regained his footing, her ochre eyes full of happiness.

Elias reached out towards her, stroking her cheek with his thumb. Everything he’d ever felt for her flowed through his mind at the sight of her before him. The first day he’d laid eyes on her, the day his sister had introduced them, the smile on her face when he was the templar in the library the night she worked late, her teasing laughs… The day of her harrowing when he had been the one assigned to put her down if the worst happened… The joy he felt when she’d succeeded.

None of that compared to the day he’d told her that he loved her. The day she’d returned his love.

The day she became his wife.

Elias took a step closer, the distance between them nearly gone. “I can’t believe that you love me. You are the most beautiful, loving, and wonderful woman I’ve ever known.”

Leda tipped her head up at him. A sly smirk crossed her lips. “Don’t let your sisters hear that.”

Closing his eyes, Elias laughed freely, knowing that this moment with Leda was true happiness. “I think they’d agree with me.”

Leda rolled her eyes and pushed at his chest playfully. “You’re impossible, Elias.”

Elias couldn’t agree more. He leaned forward, brushing his lips against hers, stroking her jaw with his fingers. The kiss lasted only few seconds before a meow interrupted.

Leda pulled away, laughing. “Looks like someone is hungry. We better get back.”

Elias lifted the basket of flowers in one hand, taking Leda’s hand in the other. She sang softly to the kitten as they walked to camp and he shut his eyes, letting the music of her voice lead him.


End file.
